Cable-twisting device.



P. A. WELSBY.

CABLE TWISTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION m sc APR.21.'1916.

7 1,21 1,020. Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

IN l/E N TOR fiP/PJ fl W12 55% A TTOR/VEVSV PERRY A. WELSB Y, OFSAPULPA, OKLAHOMA.

CABLE-TWISTING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 2, 1917.

Application filed'April 21, 1916'. Serial No. 92,670.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, PERRY A. VVELSBY, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Sapulpa, in the countyof Greek and State of Oklahoma, have invented a certain new and useful.Improvement in Cable- Twisting Devices, of which the following I is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in cable twisting devices, and itconsists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements hereindescribed and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide asimple tool to be usedprimarily in twisting the cable used in connection with well drilling,such as oil wells and the like, which will not injure the cable.

A further object of my invention is to provide a tool which may beapplied very quickly and which may be removed quickly.

A further object of" my invention is to provide a simple tool made inone piece and therefore which is not liable to get out of order, asare'more' complex devices.

A further object of my invention is to provide a tool of the typedescribed which, when applied to the cable, will grip the cable tightly,and will not work itself up or down the cable.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming. partof this application in which: u

Figure l is a perspective view of the device. Fig. 2 is a viewshowingthe tool as applied to a cable whose strands are twisted in onedirection. Fig. 3 is a sec tion along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 isa View similar to Fig. 2 but showing a cable whose. strands are twistedin the opposite direction. Fig. 5- is a section. along the line 55 ofFig. 4.. Fig. 6 is an lenlarged section showing the manner in which thetool engages the strands of the cable.

111 carrying out my invention I provide atool which is made of a singlepiece of iron, steel, or other suitable material. Thisv tool has ahandle portion 1 which is preferably of cylindrical shape, as shown inFig. 1. At substantially a point 2 the handle is flattened out, and at apoint 3 this flattened portion is bent upwardly. At sub= stantially apoint 4, see Figs. 1 and 2, the tool is bent so as to form a curvehaving a constantly shorter radius, except at the end of the tool wherethere is a flat portion 5.

Not only is the tool curved spirally, but the curved portion is formedin helical or screw shape, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, so that the endof the tool is higher than the handle when the latter is held inhorizontal position. There is another feature which will be seen byreferring to the drawing, andthat is that one end of the helicallyformed portion ofthe tool is narrower than the opposite end therebyforming a substantially conical spiral. Take, for instance, the end' Xin Fig. 1'. It is narrower than the end Y because the end Y is flaredoutwardly. The tool terminates, as stated, in a flat portion owhich fiatportion makes an acute angle 6 with the end ,7 of the tool.

A tool built as described will have an edge 8 made by the angl'efl whichfollows the contour of the strands 9 of the cable.

Right here I wish to state that the angular portion 6 is not in anysense of the word a tooth, since it does not bite into the cable. It ismade in angular form merely that the flat portion 5 may be slipped inadjacent to one of the strands 9, as clearly shown in Fig. 6.

From the foregoing description of the parts of the device, the operationthereof may be readily understood.

Consider a cable wound as shown in Fig. 2. Such a cable when supportingtools in a deep well, tends to untwist, and the purpose of the tool isto twist the cable back into shape. The cable is clamped and then thetool is hooked around the cable and brought into the position shown inFig- 3, in which position the flat edge of the tool is behind-the strand9 of thecable and in which another portion of the tool bears against astrand, for instance the strand 9 in Fig. 3, at a point 10. If, now, thehandle be turned in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 3, the cable willbe twisted in the direction shown by the curved arrow. It will beobserved that the side 5 is bearing on one side of one of the strands 9.handle at the curved part of the latter has a fulcrum point 10, so thatthe thrust of the flat side 5 is normal tothe surface of the strands, oris in the direction shown by twist the whole cable.

the arrow in Fig. 6. Since the cable is held between the side 5 and thepoint of contact 10, the cable will be twisted. It will be seen that thecable is not gripped byteeth, as with other gripping devices with whichI am 'familar. There is, therefore, no tendency to injure the strands ofthe cable. This I consider one of the most important features of theinvention.

In disengaging the tool from the cable, it is-only necessary to move thehandle in the opposite direction, and as will clearly be seen from Fig.3, this will take the cable out from engagement with the tool, therebyfreeing the latter and permitting its instant removal.

In twisting a cable which is wound in the opposite direction as shown inFig. 1-, the tool is merely turned over, so that in stead of being inthe position shown in Fig. 3,'it is in that position shown in Fig. 5. Itwill be observed that Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the tool, althoughit shows the cable in section. grips the cable in precisely the same mannor as explained in connection with Fig. 6; that is to say, the flatportion 5 enters the sinus between two strands, and the edge 8 followsthe contour of the strand, so that when the tool is turned in theopposite direction to that shown in Fig. 3, the flat side will bearagainst the strand and tend to Owing to the peculiar construction of'thetool in which the tool is bent into substantially spiral shape and atthe same time having a helical form with one end of the coil narrowerthan the other, there is no tendency of the tool to creep on the cableduring the twisting of the latter. The tool is applied and instantlygrips the cable but does not injure it when the latter is being twisted.

Owing to the fact that the tool is made in one piece, there are nocomplex parts to get out of order. As a matter of fact, the tool may beused with one hand, since there are no adjusting devices to operate,such ,as the adjusting screws on wrenches or other devices having morethan one part.

I claim f 1. A cable twisting tool comprising a handle and having aspirally bent portion As a matter of fact, the tool provided with anedge conforming to the contour of the strands of the cable, said edgebeing arranged to enter the space between adjacent strands on the cable,said tool having a fulcrum on another strand 0 a handle and a grippingportion, said gripping portion being curved 1n spiral shape and beingbent in helical shape w th respect to the axis of the spiral, the end ofthe tool having an edge arranged to follow the contour of a strand ofthe cable;

, 4:. A tool for twisting cables comprising a handle and a grippingportion, said gripping portion being curved in spiral shape andbeingbent in helical shape with respect to the axis of the spirahthe endof the tool having an edge arranged to follow the contour of a strand ofthe cable, and said tool having a flatportion adjacent to said edgearranged to engage a strand of'the cable for exerting pressure on thelatter.

5. A cable twisting tool comprising a handle portion and a grippingportion, said gripping portion being bent into spiral form, and beingbent into helical form with respect to the axis of the spiral, one endof said helix being of substantially smaller diameter than the other,and said tool having a flat portion arranged to engage a strand of cableand being provided with an angular portion nearest that fiat portionarranged to enter between adjacent strands.

6. A'cable twisting tool having one end portion formed as a handle, andits opposite endportion formed into a screw or substantially conicalspiral and presenting an acute angular end edge adapted to enter thesinus between two contiguous external strands of a cable, a portion ofthe spiral being adapted to rest on a strand of the cable as-a fulcrum.

PERRY A. WELSBY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

" washington D. G, i r

